Congress proposes sweeping changes to college athletics

[BaseballJones]

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/30533536/congressional-proposal-overhaul-college-sports
The list is long, but here are some highlights:

- Some form of revenue sharing.
- Changes in transfers.
- Ability to wear sneakers/footwear of your choice rather than what the school has contracted for.
- Ability to enter the draft and come back to school even after the draft happens.
- Other changes include agents, scholarships/grades, medical care, etc.

Would be enormously significant if this all went through.

 

[jose melendez]

This would be tremendous progress.

I think it's interesting that it comes from Senators in states without bigtime football. (Rutgers kind of, but still.)

 

[Batman Likes The Sox]

Important to note that this very good idea arrives in the shadow of SCOTUS agreeing to take up an appeal on college athlete compensation.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/16/politics/supreme-court-ncaa-athlete-compensation-case/index.html
Will be interesting to see how the various legislative proposals related to the NCAA play out as the court looks to this case next summer.

 

[DJnVa]

The "return to school after draft" could be interesting. I wonder if professional teams would hold their rights until the next season's draft.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

After NVOT (shoutout), Booker played at Stanford and was a Rhodes scholar. I can't find that Blumenthal played in college.

 

[NYCSox]

After NVOT (shoutout), Booker played at Stanford and was a Rhodes scholar. I can't find that Blumenthal played in college.

How could he when he spent all that time in Vietnam?

 

[shaggydog2000]

The "return to school after draft" could be interesting. I wonder if professional teams would hold their rights until the next season's draft.

Hockey players can be drafted and then enter college, but baseball teams lose rights to their picks when they enter college. In the NBA I don't think you can attend college at all after being drafted out of HS. Since all of the leagues seem to have different rules involving drafts and college already, I'm going to guess the details of what returning to college means will be left to the leagues and their CBAs. As long as you don't sign a pro contract, I don't think the colleges should care. Although I'm sure the control freak college coaches will care that players might get conflicting advice from their agents and the pro teams that own their rights.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

How could he when he spent all that time in Vietnam?

I almost referred to him as Da Nang Dick, but went with his surname.

 

[DJnVa]

Hockey players can be drafted and then enter college, but baseball teams lose rights to their picks when they enter college. In the NBA I don't think you can attend college at all after being drafted out of HS. Since all of the leagues seem to have different rules involving drafts and college already, I'm going to guess the details of what returning to college means will be left to the leagues and their CBAs. As long as you don't sign a pro contract, I don't think the colleges should care. Although I'm sure the control freak college coaches will care that players might get conflicting advice from their agents and the pro teams that own their rights.

Yeah, I know how it works now---but imagine if the NFL didn't allow a team to keep rights. If this was in place now, Trevor Lawrence could declare for the draft and say "I will not sign with the Jets or Jags so do not draft me or I will return to Clemson." Do they take a chance?

Or, if they did let teams hold rights until the next draft. Imagine the Russian Roulette if Lawrence goes back to school after being drafted by Jets--and Jets suck again and get the #1 pick. Could be fascinating. Jets would be telling him to sign and now we can add another #1 pick. Or, if you don't sign, we are drafting you again and you'll have less talent around you.

Or if Jets don't get the #1 pick next year. Or would teams draft guys early with understanding they want them to go back to school?

 

[Steve Dillard]

From the NCAA eligibility perspective, the key on drafts is if you place your name in to the draft, or are drafted automatically. In hockey and baseball, players automatically are picked, without action on their part, so never choose to be professional. But in baskeball and football players had to opt in to the draft, so lose their amateur status. (Makes sense, right????) Larry Bird could be drafted without opting in in 1978 because of the 4 year from enrollment rule, and returned to play the following season after being drafted by the Celts. I think he's the only drafted player to play college baskeball, but I could easily be wrong.

But you are correct that the league CBA separately covers for how long the league keeps the player rights once drafted.

 

[shaggydog2000]

Yeah, I know how it works now---but imagine if the NFL didn't allow a team to keep rights. If this was in place now, Trevor Lawrence could declare for the draft and say "I will not sign with the Jets or Jags so do not draft me or I will return to Clemson." Do they take a chance?

Or, if they did let teams hold rights until the next draft. Imagine the Russian Roulette if Lawrence goes back to school after being drafted by Jets--and Jets suck again and get the #1 pick. Could be fascinating. Jets would be telling him to sign and now we can add another #1 pick. Or, if you don't sign, we are drafting you again and you'll have less talent around you.

Or if Jets don't get the #1 pick next year. Or would teams draft guys early with understanding they want them to go back to school?

From a league fan perspective, it will be interesting to see how they handle the ability to return to school and what impact that has on the drafts. If a sophomore football player can return to school and make some level of cash from the TV deal and his own image and sponsorship so it becomes a more viable option, do you wait longer to draft him knowing he might go back and therefore be a wasted pick? Or do you draft him higher to increase the chances he'll sign and not be a wasted pick? Knowing the NFL, they'll probably make NFL teams own drafted player's rights forever just to reduce their bargaining power.

It will also be interesting if this becomes a big deal in Dem/Rep way. Most of the big Democrat states have big cities and pro sports, and don't really care about college sports as much. A lot of the big Republican voting states didn't have pro sports until more recently and really care about their college sports. Upending the current NCAA setup is completely fair and just to me, but Red state voters are likely to see it as Democrats trying to ruin what they love.

 

[swiftaw]

There are some nice ideas but there is no way this actually becomes law, not with all those red senators from AL, KY, KS, etc.

 

[Ale Xander]

There are some nice ideas but there is no way this actually becomes law, not with all those red senators from AL, KY, KS, etc.

That's only 6 senators.

 

[swiftaw]

That's only 6 senators.

Yeah, but one happens to be majority leader and thus can stop anything he wants. Plus you could probably add a few more at least (LA, MS). I might have a chance without the revenue sharing part, but there is no way those big schools are going to want to share the pot with the athletes.

 

[Fred not Lynn]

Coupled with the new law governing the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, in which Blumenthal was also a big player, I see a Congress that seems to want exerting more influence/power over sport in general. At this point, perhaps the US could consider an actual “Ministry of Sport” not unlike pretty much every other country on earth
(I know we don’t have ministries, we have “departments”. “Department of Sport, Recreation and Leisure” perhaps?). Maybe something under Interior, or Education instead of a whole department of its own...

The gigantic, inconsistent patchwork of authority over sport in the US is how stuff like Dr. Nassar happens. I am generally a small-government kind of guy, but if Congress want to keep putting their fingers in the pie, why not just go all out?

 

[Ale Xander]

Coupled with the new law governing the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, in which Blumenthal was also a big player, I see a Congress that seems to want exerting more influence/power over sport in general. At this point, perhaps the US could consider an actual “Ministry of Sport” not unlike pretty much every other country on earth
(I know we don’t have ministries, we have “departments”. “Department of Sport, Recreation and Leisure” perhaps?). Maybe something under Interior, or Education instead of a whole department of its own...

The gigantic, inconsistent patchwork of authority over sport in the US is how stuff like Dr. Nassar happens. I am generally a small-government kind of guy, but if Congress want to keep putting their fingers in the pie, why not just go all out?

Under Education makes a ton of sense given Title IX.

 

[Fred not Lynn]

Under Education makes a ton of sense given Title IX.

I have had this conversation with people in the Olympic sport world. In general they supported the concept - until two words changed their minds; “Betsy” and “DeVos”

In all seriousness, the concept puts everything at the whim of the politics of the day - and subject to the acts of the prevailing administration...but also brings the accountability that comes with being part of the actual government. Not so sure about NCAA, but USOPC could use that.